Part 1 - Feeding Your Teething Baby
Saturday, March 03, 2007
Babies begin getting their first teeth between 5-7 months of age. Eager parents are often excited to start trying new foods with their little cookie monster, but feeding a baby takes a bit of education and a lot of care. Making the wrong mistake can lead to food allergies and even death.
According to Dr. Bill Sears, a well written pediatrician suggests that you should wait until the baby is about 6 months old before entering new foods such as fruits and cereals into their diet. He explains that starting any earlier can aggravate or create food allergies as the babies little systems are not yet developed enough to process new foods so their body may treat new foods as a foreign substance that is harmful to the child - causing it to be rejected by the immune system - and eventually a food allergy develops.
When you do begin to feed your baby cereals and fruits it is best to stick with the multi grain cereals & crackers that dissolve easily. Of course preparing your own mashed fruits and vegetables at home is much healthier than buying bottled foods.
When your baby is 1-2 years of age it is OK to start presenting foods with some soft chunks such as chunky applesauce or soups with vegetables that are cut in very small pieces. Avoid peanut butter on bread - especially white bread - because it has a tendency to ball up in the child's throat an may cause a choking problem, especially if the child shoves large amounts of food into her mouth at once.
For some reason hot dogs are often given to toddlers, but even small round chunks of a hot dog can cause choking and death as the circumference of the meat is about the same as the child's esophagus. Hot dogs have little nutritional value anyway so there is really no need to feed them to your child. If you find hot dogs made without nitrates, preservatives and fillers (such as Hebrew International pure beef franks) the best way to serve them to your toddler is to peel them into very thin, noodle like strips with a carrot peeler. For a young toddler you can chop them into smaller strips after slicing them thinly.
Grapes should always be peeled and or mashed or cut into small chunks, removing any seeds before serving them. Raisins should be smashed well and torn apart into a smaller more manageable size. Soaking them in water first will soften the skins, making chewing much easier and swallowing will be much safer for the child.
And of course, never leave a small child alone while they are eating. Choking happens so fast and it can be fatal. And remember, patting the child on the back will likely make the choking worse. Find a class in your area that teaches infant and child CPR and other emergency techniques; you may be the one parent who actually has to use it one day. Don't take a chance with your child's life.
According to Dr. Bill Sears, a well written pediatrician suggests that you should wait until the baby is about 6 months old before entering new foods such as fruits and cereals into their diet. He explains that starting any earlier can aggravate or create food allergies as the babies little systems are not yet developed enough to process new foods so their body may treat new foods as a foreign substance that is harmful to the child - causing it to be rejected by the immune system - and eventually a food allergy develops.
When you do begin to feed your baby cereals and fruits it is best to stick with the multi grain cereals & crackers that dissolve easily. Of course preparing your own mashed fruits and vegetables at home is much healthier than buying bottled foods.
When your baby is 1-2 years of age it is OK to start presenting foods with some soft chunks such as chunky applesauce or soups with vegetables that are cut in very small pieces. Avoid peanut butter on bread - especially white bread - because it has a tendency to ball up in the child's throat an may cause a choking problem, especially if the child shoves large amounts of food into her mouth at once.
For some reason hot dogs are often given to toddlers, but even small round chunks of a hot dog can cause choking and death as the circumference of the meat is about the same as the child's esophagus. Hot dogs have little nutritional value anyway so there is really no need to feed them to your child. If you find hot dogs made without nitrates, preservatives and fillers (such as Hebrew International pure beef franks) the best way to serve them to your toddler is to peel them into very thin, noodle like strips with a carrot peeler. For a young toddler you can chop them into smaller strips after slicing them thinly.
Grapes should always be peeled and or mashed or cut into small chunks, removing any seeds before serving them. Raisins should be smashed well and torn apart into a smaller more manageable size. Soaking them in water first will soften the skins, making chewing much easier and swallowing will be much safer for the child.
And of course, never leave a small child alone while they are eating. Choking happens so fast and it can be fatal. And remember, patting the child on the back will likely make the choking worse. Find a class in your area that teaches infant and child CPR and other emergency techniques; you may be the one parent who actually has to use it one day. Don't take a chance with your child's life.